This invention relates generally to dampers, and more particularly to fluid dampers which dampen the motion of movable furniture components.
A damper is often used to dampen the motion of a movable furniture component such as a window, door, drawer, lid, tray or shelf. Damping helps prevent damage to not only the movable furniture component, but also the object that the movable furniture component will strike at the end of its movement such as a window frame, a door frame, a drawer cabinet, a container, a desk, or a bookshelf. Damping also decreases noise and vibration caused when a movable furniture component contacts an object at the end of its movement. Dampers are particularly useful when used in connection with drawers because drawers are often in settings in which quiet and gentle closure is desired. Thus, dampers are widely used in conjunction with drawer slides and in conjunction with drawer closing devices.
However, the typical damper lacks the ability to adequately vary the amount of damping based on the speed of the movable furniture component while it is engaged with the damper. When the furniture component is moving at a high rate of speed, the typical damper either over-dampens, causing the furniture component to come to a complete stop or rebound, or under-dampens, allowing the furniture component to slam against an associated object. In addition, while the typical damper may be operably coupled to a drawer closing device, it is a separate component. As a result, this arrangement consumes more space, is more expensive to manufacture and assemble, and is more susceptible to mechanical failure.
Therefore, a more reliable, compact and cost-effective damper capable of adequately varying the amount of damping based on the speed of an associated movable furniture component and of being fully integrated with a drawer closing device would be highly beneficial.